Description
Book SynopsisSpace: it's everywhere, all around, a given. It's abstract and yet not abstract at all, because it governs all human relations, shapes the way we understand our place on the planet, and orients us toward others (for better and for worse). How do theatre scholars understand space and place in performance? What tools do they use to theorize the political work space does on and beyond the stage? How can students use these tools to unpack the workings of space and place in the performances they see, the plays they study, and the experiences they have outside their classrooms?
Theory for Theatre Studies: Space provides a comprehensive introduction to the spatial turn' in modern theatre and performance theory, exploring topics as diverse as embodied space, environmental performance politics and urban performance studies. The book is written in accessible prose and features in-depth case studies of Platform's audio walk
And While London Burns, Katie Mitchell's
Fraülein Julie
Trade Review
Theory for Theatre Studies investigates a wide range of methodologies to corroborate longstanding discourse surrounding space, place, and performance. Solga uses this volume to examine how new understandings of theatrical and performance events can evolve from varying approaches to and in theatrical spaces. A self-proclaimed modern feminist, Solga is also author of Theatre and Feminism (2016) and Violence against Women in Early Modern Performance: Invisible Acts (2009). From speculative queries to in-depth case studies, the present title offers insight into historical dramatic theories and unpacks 20th-century theater trends. Summing Up: Recommended. * CHOICE *
Lucid and compelling ... [Provides] an engaging and accessible synthesis of spatial theories that will make this book an essential addition to undergraduate curricula ... A valuable and timely contribution to research on performance space. * New Theatre Quarterly *
Kim Solga’s Theory for Theatre Studies: Space offers new considerations of foundational twentieth-century cultural materialism and boldly takes on vital new discourses. In so doing, Solga reinserts the stakes and dynamizes the discussion of spatiality in twenty-first-century theatre and performance studies. -- Scott Magelssen, University of Washington School of Drama, USA
Solga’s engaging synthesis of key spatial theories opens up provocative possibilities for better understanding space in and of the theatre. Vivid examples anchor her well-contextualised ideas on texts, venues, scenic design and politics. -- Professor Joanne Tompkins, The University of Queensland, Australia
A fluid and rigorous field-guide to an important and stimulating area of study: this book covers a great deal of territory, offers a lively and accessible account of a complex theme, and synthesises theory, theatre and analysis with wit, confidence and clarity. -- Sophie Nield, Royal Holloway, University of London
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements Series Preface Introduction: Making Room for Space at the Theatre Locate Yourself The Way Ahead Section One: Methodologies and Approaches The Back Story: The Spaces of Classical Dramatic Theory Contemporary Lens #1: Theatre and the Production of Social Space Contemporary Lens #2: Genre and “Topographic” Space Contemporary Lens #3: The Heterotopic Stage Section Two: Extended Case Studies Case Study #1: ‘And While London Burns’ Case Study #2: ‘Fräulein Julie’ Case Study #3: ‘The Shipment’ Section Three: Towards a Decolonized Stage Locating Settler Colonialism Seeing Like a Settler “A Concert and a Conversation”: ‘Kiinalik – These Sharp Tools’ Notes Further reading Bibliography Index
